What does it mean to you to be loved? Is being loved something you are thankful for? Have you felt loved at one time and unloved at another? Do you want to know that you are loved at all times? What if I told you, you are? Will you be thankful for that love?
Being loved is something all human beings long for. We not only want to be loved but need to be loved. The need is so strong that, if we do not find love where we think it should be, we will look for it from other sources. Looking for love can lead to some very bad places.
Sometimes, we misinterpret being accepted as being love. This happens when we do not find real love where we should. It is a contributing reason why some young people ending up in gangs. They are accepted as long as they go along with what the gang expects. They interpret the acceptance as love.
Our drive to find love is strong enough that we may accept a bad relationship in the false belief the other person loves us. They may not love us but are really using us. We see this happen far too often. Once again, it emphasizes our need for love. But there is a place and a person who loves us at all times and forever.
God’s love does not depend on our behavior, how we look, nor our status in life. After all, he is our Creator. That does not mean God does not have some expectations, but he will never stop loving us. To know that love more intimately and feel his love for us, we need to be in a relationship with him. It is no different than knowing another person loves us. Without the relationship there is no tangible way of feeling the love God has for us. Once we feel that love, we are moved to thank God for his love.
I pray we all seek to be in relationship with God. I pray we desire to feel his love for us. I pray each one of us know that God’s love for us is forever and we give thanks to him for it. Be in relationship with God. Feel God’s love for you. Know that God’s love is forever. Give God thanks for his love.
Psalm 118:29 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
Marty Pressey 